Irby Trial On ScheduleThe criminal trial of Karen Irby, wife of Jackson businessman Stuart Irby, is set for March and looks ready to proceed. At a Feb. 17 pre-trial hearing, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green indicated that she foresaw no delays …
Schoolhouse to StatehouseYvonne Horton made an unconventional job transition in 2007, joining a lobbying firm after 30 years as a public-school teacher. Horton, 60, is a Bolton native and a 1971 graduate of Jackson State University.
Bashing Sodas and Saving SchoolsThe 90-day legislative session will creep past the halfway mark this week, and the clock ticks on plenty of legislative efforts, including the deadline to except or trash fiscal-year 2011 appropriation and revenue bills.
Mason: No Plans for Public Input on MergerAs Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. shook hands at a forum last Friday at Koinonia Coffee House in Jackson, he sought to quell concerns about a possible HBCU merger idea he floated to legislators last month. He maintained …
Barbour Vetoes Budget RestorationGov. Haley Barbour vetoed budget reconciliation act Senate Bill 2688 today, a bill that restored $79 million in cuts he enacted for Fiscal Year 2011. The governor rejected the bill saying that it delayed "inevitable government reorganization and relied on …
Linda MannLinda Mann always thought she would leave Mississippi after she graduated from college and never return. She moved to Jackson from Birmingham when she was 3 and by the time she graduated from Provine High School in 1964, she was …
Chief Unsure of New Police Review ProcessJackson Police Chief Rebecca Coleman is doubtful about a proposed independent community advocacy review process for police matters. Last night, the Jackson City Council delayed voting on a city ordinance for a board of citizens independent from the police department …
Road to Nowhere?Yesterday, the Mississippi House approved $300 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements in the state. Among the projects is $42 million for a new highway from Pontotoc to Sherman, site of the as-yet completed Blue Springs Toyota plant, reports The …
City Targets Pit BullsThe Jackson City Council Rules Committee, spurred by the recent death of 5-year-old Terry resident Anastasia Bingham from a pit-bull attack, voted Monday to ask the city's legal department to write an ordinance banning pit bulls dog inside the city …
Council Set to Vote on Police OversightThe Jackson City Council may decide today whether to institute a civilian review process for the Jackson Police Department. Long a pet item for Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, a proposal for a civilian oversight of police complaints passed the …
City Seeks Removal of Visitor's Bureau Expiration DateThe Jackson City Council's Legislative Budget Committee moved forward to re-authorize the Convention Center & Visitors Bureau yesterday, but committee Chairwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon said the committee should ask the state Legislature for a law change that could make future re-authorizations …
George BishopWhile George Bishop was on a camel safari in India, he went to sleep and had a dream about a mother who longed for her daughter. The next morning he woke up and started writing down his dream.
Guilty Verdict in JSU Murder TrialA Hinds County jury found Stanley Cole guilty of the murder of Latasha Norman this afternoon. Cole, 26, faces life in prison for killing Norman, his ex-girlfriend.
Barbour Goes National, AgainGov. Haley Barbour was in Washington, D.C., this weekend for the National Governors Association's annual conference, but he made headlines for extracurricular activities, speaking against the federal stimulus bill and rallying Republican opposition to health-care reform and climate-change regulations.
Local Catering Business Serves Home-Cooked FavoritesMacy Chester, 31, owner of Cosmopolitan Catering in Fondren, learned the ins and outs of the catering business from her mother, Terry Gibson, a former caterer in Yazoo City.
Community Events and Public Meetings3:00 p.m., <b>Mississippi Reproductive Justice Coalition Legislative Strategy Meeting,</b> at ACLU of Mississippi (753 N. Congress St.), in the conference room. Topics include the Comprehensive Sex Education Bill 837, the Child Protection Act and the Personhood Amendment. Free; call 601-354-3408.
Charlie MarisA few days before Assistant Attorney General Charlie Maris went into heart surgery, he left his Bible on his desk with a notation in Romans 8 that read "a mind controlled by the Spirit equals life and peace."
Mayor Invites Jacksonians to One-on-One MeetingMayor Harvey Johnson Jr. urges Jackson residents to speak with him one-on-one. Johnson will hold one of his regular meetings prior to tomorrow's City Council meeting to discuss issues, take reports about problems or just speak with concerned citizens tomorrow, …
Judge Rules for Law Firm in MCI CaseHinds Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd handed down a ruling today that will allow the Langston Law Firm to keep the $14 million fee it earned for representing the state in a $110 million settlement with former telecom giant MCI, …
Mason Says Merger Plan a Leaked ‘Idea'As Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. shook hands at a forum this morning at Koinonia Coffee House in Jackson, he sought to quell concerns about a possible HBCU merger idea he floated to legislators last month. He maintained …
Sonia SanchezSonia Sanchez stands with confidence, petite in stature with her natural dreadlocks hanging just below her shoulder. Her voice is strong, not in its volume, but in the passion and conviction that oozes from the words she speaks: "Our vision …
Black Farmers to Benefit from Obama DecisionAbout 24,000 Mississippi black farmers could benefit from a decision by the Obama administration to include a $1.25 billion discrimination settlement in the 2010 federal budget.
Magic Johnson HIV Testing Tour in JacksonSome 231,000 Americans are infected with HIV and don't know it. Hoping to make an impact on those numbers, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Magic Johnson "Testing America" tour is stopping at Hinds Community College today from 8 a.m. until noon …
Senate Votes to Restore Budget Cuts; Barbour Promises VetoGov. Haley Barbour claims he will veto a bill the Mississippi Senate passed today that would restore funding to offset cuts he made to state agencies. "This bill spends too much, burns too much of our reserves, and fails to …
Auto Burglaries puts JPD on AlertA spike in auto burglaries has the Jackson Police Department increasing patrol units and asking residents not to leave valuable possessions in their cars.
Rev. Eric PridmoreRev. Eric Pridmore, 38, hasn't let blindness stop him from hunting. The mounted antlers from a three-point buck he shot hang over his fireplace, a testament to his marksmanship. Pridmore's friend, Ted Kendall IV, helped him gain his trophy.
Soda Tax Will Fizzle OutSweetened drinks add to the problem of childhood obesity, according to Andrew Hysall, associate vice president of advocacy and public policy for the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Healthy Kids. A proposal to add a 2-cent per ounce tax to those …